Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, blue:Elohim, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ λαὸς τῶν σκύλων ποίμνια καὶ βουκόλια τὰ πρῶτα τοῦ ἐξολοθρεύματος, θύσαι ἐνώπιον Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐν Γαλγάλοις. (Kai elaben ho laos tōn skulōn poimnia kai boukolia ta prōta tou exolothreumatos, thusai enōpion Kuriou Theou haʸmōn en Galgalois. )
BrTrBut the people took of the spoils the best flocks and herds out of that which was destroyed, to sacrifice before the Lord our God in Galgal.
ULTAnd the people took from the spoil sheep and cattle, the first of the banned thing, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at the Gilgal.”
USTMy men brought back only the best sheep and cattle and other things, in order to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God here at Gilgal.”
BSBThe troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
OEBBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which were placed under the ban, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’
WEBBEBut the people took of the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the devoted things, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
NETBut the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
LSVand the people take of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to your God YHWH in Gilgal.”
FBVThe army took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was consecrated to God, to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
T4TMy men brought back only the best sheep and cattle and other things, in order to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God here at Gilgal.”
LEBThe troops took from the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.”
BBEBut the people took some of their goods, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which were put to the curse, to make an offering of them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
JPSBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.'
ASVBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
DRABut the people took of the spoils sheep and oxen, as the firstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.
YLTand the people taketh of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.'
DrbyBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy [fn]God in Gilgal.
RVBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
WbstrBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
KJB-1769But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. (But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy/your God in Gilgal. )
KJB-1611But the people tooke of the spoile, sheepe and oxen, the chiefe of the things which should haue bene vtterly destroyed, to sacrifice vnto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. (But the people took of the spoile, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy/your God in Gilgal.)
BshpsBut the people toke of ye spoyle, sheepe, oxen, and the chiefest of the thynges whiche shoulde haue ben destroyed, to offer vnto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. (But the people took of ye/you_all spoyle, sheep, oxen, and the chiefest of the things which should have been destroyed, to offer unto the Lord thy/your God in Gilgal.)
GnvaBut the people tooke of the spoyle, sheepe, and oxen, and the chiefest of the things which shoulde haue bene destroyed, to offer vnto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. (But the people took of the spoyle, sheep, and oxen, and the chiefest of the things which should have been destroyed, to offer unto the Lord thy/your God in Gilgal. )
Cvdlbut ye people haue take of the spoyle, shepe & oxen, and ye best amoge the damned, to offer vnto ye LORDE thy God in Gilgall. (but ye/you_all people have take of the spoyle, sheep and oxen, and ye/you_all best among the damned, to offer unto ye/you_all LORD thy/your God in Gilgall.)
WyclForsothe the puple took of the prey, scheep and oxun, the firste fruytis of tho thingis, that ben slayn, that thei make sacrifice to her Lord God in Galgalis. (Forsothe the people took of the prey, sheep and oxen, the first fruits of those things, that been slayn, that they make sacrifice to her Lord God in Galgalis.)
LuthAber das Volk hat des Raubes genommen, Schafe und Rinder, das Beste unter dem Verbanneten, dem HErr’s, deinem GOtt, zu opfern in Gilgal. (But the people has the plunderes taken, sheep and Rinder, the Beste under to_him Verbanneten, to_him LORD’s, your God, to opfern in Gilgal.)
ClVgTulit autem de præda populus oves et boves, primitias eorum quæ cæsa sunt, ut immolet Domino Deo suo in Galgalis. (Tulit however about præda populus oves and boves, primitias their which cæsa are, as immolet Master Deo his_own in Galgalis. )
15:21my troops: Saul persisted in blaming others (see 15:15). • Gilgal was a religious center. Saul tried to use religion to justify disobedience to God.
God instructed Saul to “completely destroy” the Amalekites, who had ambushed the Israelites after the Exodus (see Exod 17:8-16; Deut 25:17-19). The Hebrew word kharam (“completely destroy”) often means dedicating something or someone completely to the Lord, either by destroying it (1 Sam 15:3; Josh 6:17-18) or by giving it as an offering (see Lev 27:28-29; Josh 6:19).
Complete destruction was called for in cases where those to be destroyed had committed a severe offense against God, such as worshiping false gods (Deut 7:1-6; 13:12-18). In 1 Samuel 15:3, complete destruction is prescribed as God’s judgment on a nation that mistreated his chosen people. Those who curse God’s family are, in turn, cursed (Gen 12:3).
God still judges the godless and impenitent. But in the new covenant, Christians are not called to be agents of such judgment. God calls us to exercise his mercy toward those who wrong us (see Luke 9:51-56). We must completely destroy whatever within ourselves wars against Christ (Rom 8:12-13; Col 3:5). And we must overcome the enemies of Christ by our faith, by the Good News, and by our love (Eph 6:10-20; 1 Jn 2:9-17). God will mete out judgment according to his justice and in his time (Rom 12:19; 2 Thes 1:6-10).
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_took the,people from,the,plunder flock_of_sheep/goats and,cattle beginning_of the,things_devoted_to_destruction to,sacrifice to/for=YHWH God,your in/on/at/with,Gilgal )
This appears to be shifting the blame to the people.
(Occurrence 0) things devoted to destruction
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_took the,people from,the,plunder flock_of_sheep/goats and,cattle beginning_of the,things_devoted_to_destruction to,sacrifice to/for=YHWH God,your in/on/at/with,Gilgal )
Alternate translation: “animals that Yahweh commanded them to destroy”
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_took the,people from,the,plunder flock_of_sheep/goats and,cattle beginning_of the,things_devoted_to_destruction to,sacrifice to/for=YHWH God,your in/on/at/with,Gilgal )
Saul’s war against the Amalekites exemplifies many of the key traits–good and bad–of Saul’s leadership over Israel. Immediately before the story is recounted, the author notes that during Saul’s entire reign he fought valiantly against Israel’s enemies on every side (1 Samuel 14:47-52), and he amassed an army of skilled soldiers. Thus, Saul fulfilled one of the primary reasons the people demanded that Samuel appoint a king over them (1 Samuel 8). Then the author notes that the Lord, through Samuel, directed Saul to attack the Amalekites and utterly destroy them and their belongings as punishment for their cruel attack on the Israelites after they left Egypt to travel to Mount Sinai (Exodus 17; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). So Saul mustered a large number of troops at a place called Telaim and traveled to an otherwise unknown “city of the Amalekites” and lay in lay in wait for them in a valley. Saul also warned the Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Hobab (also called Jethro), to move away from the Amalekites so they would not be killed in the coming battle. It appears that the Kenites had remained on good terms with the Israelites since the time of Hobab/Jethro and accompanied them as they entered the Promised Land, eventually settling among the Amalekites in the Negev near Arad (Judges 1:16). Saul defeated the Amalekites, pursuing them “from Havilah as far as Shur,” according the the Hebrew text. The region of Havilah, however, was several hundred miles from the Negev, making it unlikely to be the place to which Saul pursued them, and this is underscored by the Septuagint’s substitution of “Elath” for “Havilah”. It is possible that the author was using this phrase as a hyperbolic merism to indicate that Saul pursued the Amalekites throughout the entire land in which they lived (see also Genesis 25:18 regarding the Ishmaelites). But since elsewhere in Scripture the Amalekites are said to live in the Negev and in southern Canaan (Genesis 14:7; Numbers 13:29; 14:45; Judges 1:16), another possibility is that the “Havilah” reading is a textual corruption. The Septuagint translators may have preserved the original reading of “Elath,” or they may have been making their best guess as to the intended location. Simply based on the similarity of spelling and the geography of the region (as shown on this map), it is possible that the original reading was “Hachilah,” a hill where David would later have some close encounters with Saul during his time in the wilderness (1 Samuel 23:19; 26:1). In any case, Saul and his men thoroughly defeated the Amalekites, but they failed to completely destroy them (see 1 Samuel 30) and their belongings. Instead they took King Agag alive and kept the best of the spoils. After this Saul traveled to Carmel and set up a monument for himself, and then he continued on to Gilgal. When Samuel arrived in Gilgal, however, he was angry with Saul for failing to devote all of the Amalekites and their goods to destruction, and he told Saul that the Lord regretted having made him king. Samuel then killed King Agag himself at Gilgal and returned to his home in Ramah. Saul returned to his home in Gibeah, but Samuel never spoke with Saul again.
